MedMined Launches Innovative Antimicrobial Management Service to Help Hospitals Improve Antimicrobial Use and Reduce Expenses

MedMined Inc., a medical information technology company, has launched a new service that is designed to help hospitals improve patient outcomes and reduce costs associated with inpatient antimicrobial use. The Antimicrobial Management Service (AMS) debuted at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) annual conference held June 10-15, 2006.

MedMined developed the AMS as a new optional feature for its Data Mining Surveillance service, a technology that has established the company as a leader in helping clinicians reduce healthcare-acquired infections, improve patient safety, and reduce healthcare costs.

"This launch is an exciting milestone for MedMined because hospitals using the new Antimicrobial Management Service will see a reduction in antimicrobial expenses, improved utilization of antimicrobial drugs, decreased costs due to shorter hospital stays, and fewer adverse drug events," said Patrick Hymel, MD, MedMined's chief medical officer. "The service works hand-in-hand with our Data Mining Surveillance technology, which allows hospitals to achieve improved clinical and financial outcomes that are so crucial in today's hospital environment."

With an estimated 2 million patients each year acquiring infections while hospitalized and increasing concerns about antibiotic resistance, reducing healthcare-acquired infections and optimizing antimicrobial drug treatment are key issues for hospitals. Studies show that 50 percent of patients who receive antimicrobial therapy are prescribed inappropriate treatment. Furthermore, in a typical hospital, pharmacists are only able to monitor drug use for approximately half the patient population due to time constraints.

The Antimicrobial Management Service utilizes existing electronic pharmacy and lab data, eliminating manual data entry and streamlining workflow via the service's automated reporting, alerting, and documentation capabilities. The AMS alerts provide vital information that allows clinicians to respond quickly to issues and target improvement efforts. Research indicates that correcting antimicrobial utilization could result in a reduced length of stay of 1.3 days per patient admission.

MedMined is a Birmingham, Ala.-based medical information technology company founded in 2000 to provide data mining analysis and related technical, clinical, and financial consulting services to the healthcare community.

Source: MedMined